Szilard/ArtifactWeaponsAndArmor

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artifact weapons and armor - alternate rules and ratings</b> =

These are some musings off the top of my head, due to frustrations with the artifact rating system (even after Savant & Sorcerer). I don't know how they'd work out as I haven't statted Artifacts with them yet for comparison to canon Artifacts. This should have the added bonus of making basic Artifact weapons a bit less generic.

<b>Artifact •

Level one artifact weapons are standard size and do not, as a rule, have Hearthstone settings. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of a non-magical weapon of the appropriate type, add the standard bonuses for an exceptional weapon (three +1 modifiers to statistics, one of which may be spent on a Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base weapon of that type costs more than Resources 3, add one to the Artifact Rating.

Level one artifact armors do not generally have Hearthstone settings. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of non-magical armor, add the standard bonuses for an exceptional armor (two +1 modifiers to statistics, one of which may be spent on a Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base suit of armor of that type costs more than Resources 3, add one to the Artifact Rating.

These artifacts may have a single minor effect, often cosmetic in nature. Adding such an effect adds a single mote to the committment cost.

The base committment of Artifact • weapons and armor is 2 motes.

Artifact ••

Level two artifact weapons are larger than standard size and generally have a single Hearthstone setting. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of a non-magical weapon of the appropriate type, add two to Speed, add one to Damage, add the standard bonuses for an exceptional weapon (three +1 modifiers to statistics, one of which may be spent on an additional Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base weapon of that type costs more than Resources 3, add one to the Artifact Rating.

Level two artifact armors generally have a single Hearthstone setting. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of non-magical armor, add one to both the Lethal and Bashing soak, subtract one from Mobility, add the standard bonuses for an exceptional armor (two +1 modifiers to statistics, one of which may be spent on an additional Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base suit of armor of that type costs more than Resources 3, add one to the Artifact Rating.

These artifacts may have a single minor, but useful effect. A weapon may, for instance, be more concealable than a normal weapon of its type and size, or a thrown weapon may be able to return to the user's hand upon the expenditure of Essence (perhaps a point of Essence per two points of base damage of the weapon, rounded up). Adding such an effect adds a single mote to the commitment cost of the weapon. In no case should this effect be more powerful than an Essence 1 Solar Charm with no prerequisites.

The base committment of Artifact •• weapons and armor is 5 motes. This may be increased to up to 6 motes by adding a single +1 modifier, or decreased to 4 motes by subtracting one such modifier.

Artifact •••

Level three artifact weapons are typically similar in size to level two artifacts and generally have a single Hearthstone setting. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of a non-magical weapon of the appropriate type, add two to Speed, add one to Damage, and add additional bonuses (five +1 modifiers to statistics which may be stacked up to +2, one of which may be spent on an additional Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base weapon of that type costs more than Resources 4, add one to the Artifact Rating.

Level three artifact armors generally have a single Hearthstone setting. To calculate their statistics, take the base statistics of non-magical armor, add one to both the Lethal and Bashing soak, subtract one from both Fatigue and Mobility, add additional bonuses (three +1 modifiers to statistics two of which may be stacked, one of which may be spent on an additional Hearthstone setting), and add the magical material bonus. If a base suit of armor of that type costs more than Resources 4, add one to the Artifact Rating.

Level three artifact weapons and armors also gain an additional power which may be traded for four +1 modifiers to statistics. Such a power is usually equivalent in power to a Solar Charm with a minimum Essence of no more than 2, and no more than three prerequisite Charms. Such a power generally affects only the user of the artifact or a single target. Two weaker powers (equivalent to Essence 1 Charms with no more than one prerequisite, typically affecting only the user) may be substituted for such a power. Similarly, a +2 bonus to an attribute may be substituted for such a power.

The base committment of an Artifact ••• weapons and armor is 10 motes. This may be increased to up to 13 motes by adding a single +1 modifier per mote, or decreased to 7 motes by subtracting such modifiers (where the additional power is considerd to be four +1 modifiers).